As law firms evolve their business development practices, many are adopting or updating structured key client account programs and involving sales professionals—an approach long used in other professional services sectors. These efforts are designed to deepen client relationships, identify growth opportunities, and provide more proactive and responsive service to high-value clients.

“Growth happens when the walls come down. Sales, marketing, and communications should be working from the same playbook, with shared goals and full visibility into what matters most to clients,” said Chris Newman, president, legal sales and service organization (LSSO) and chief marketing and business development officer at Mintz.

Often missing from the equation, however, is a fully integrated communications strategy. Too frequently, the marketing communications function is seen primarily as a support system for firmwide branding or general thought leadership. But when leveraged strategically, the communications team can play a vital role in supporting key client account efforts, bringing insights, visibility and credibility to the firm’s most important relationships.

Here are the most effective ways communications professionals can add value to key account and sales initiatives.

Aligning Communication Strategy with Business Development Goals

The first step toward impact is alignment. Communications teams should be embedded in the strategic planning process for key account initiatives. This means participating in account planning sessions, joining client team meetings and staying informed about business development priorities. It also means building collaborative relationships with the business development managers and partners who lead the firm’s most critical client teams.

Alignment ensures that messaging is consistent across all channels—from a client’s private briefing to a firmwide webinar. It also allows the communications team to build campaigns and content calendars around the firm’s business priorities. For example, if atop client is in the energy sector and concerned about regulatory changes, the communications team can proactively create media and thought leadership campaigns that speak to those concerns and reinforce the firm’s capabilities.

“Key client accounts are complex. There are multiple stakeholders and overlapping priorities on the client side as well as our own. A strategic communications approach goes beyond great messaging. It could be the elusive catalyst that drives better collaboration across our offices and practices. It makes us more capable and proactive to deliver results in areas even the client may not have realized was a true opportunity for them until it was communicated holistically through the team,” said Darryl Cross, executive sales coach at Norton Rose Fulbright US.

Targeted Communications for Priority Clients

One of the most direct ways communications teams can support growth is by developing tailored communications for top clients and industries. This might take the form of curated newsletters that pull together the most relevant firm insights for a particular client. It could also mean creating bespoke content for microsites or client portals, offering a centralized place for insights, case studies and tools specific to that client’s sector.

Targeted communications demonstrate the firm’s depth of knowledge and commitment to client issues. For example, a quarterly “legal risk roundup” tailored to clients in the financial services industry can function as both a value-added service and a subtle reminder of the firm’s range of offerings. These targeted communications demonstrate to clients the firm’s ongoing commitment to understanding clients’ businesses and industries.

Even client alerts and law updates can be segmented by industry or tailored to specific concerns voiced by the client team. When well-executed, these communications become touchpoints that reinforce trust and expertise between in-person meetings or pitch conversations.

Co-Authored Bylined Articles: Thought Leadership as a Relationship Builder

Thought leadership remains one of the most effective ways to build a law firm’s brand, but it can also be a tool for deepening client relationships when approached creatively.

One powerful tactic is inviting clients to co-author bylined articles with firm lawyers. These articles, which can appear in trade publications, industry newsletters or legal media, position both the law firm and the client as thought leaders. They also provide a structured and mutually beneficial opportunity for collaboration.
For communications professionals, managing these projects requires coordination and finesse. It’s critical to ensure content is relevant, properly vetted, and aligned with both organizations’ branding and compliance standards. But when executed well, a co-authored piece can open doors to deeper collaboration, strengthen the relationship, and even spark follow-on opportunities for panels, podcasts or media interviews.

Earned Media That Reflects Client Priorities

Media relations often center around firm wins and partner commentary, but it can be far more strategic when integrated with key account goals.

Communications teams can monitor industry publications and national outlets for trends that affect top clients. If litigation risks are growing for automotive companies, for instance, or if new regulations are disrupting life sciences, the firm’s spokespeople should be commenting on these issues, not just as legal experts but as professionals who understand the business context clients are facing.

By working closely with client teams, communications professionals can identify which topics are priorities based on new matters and related revenue or what data shows clients are reading. After identification a firm can build pitching strategies accordingly. They can also time media outreach to coincide with client planning cycles, relevant regulatory announcements or major industry events.

When law firm spokespeople are quoted in the media about the very challenges their clients face, it sends a strong signal of alignment and understanding. Clients see their outside counsel not only as responsive advisors but as active participants in the broader business conversation.

Research and Competitive Intelligence to Support Sales

In many firms, the communications team has access to tools and processes that can significantly bolster business development efforts, but they’re not always being tapped for client team strategies.
For example, comms professionals often have expertise in researching media coverage, identifying executive quotes and analyzing competitive positioning. These skills can be applied to produce client intelligence briefs, inform pitch strategies and shape the firm’s narrative in specific sectors.
Communications teams can conduct media audits to track how both firm and client competitors are positioning themselves publicly, including what topics they’re speaking on, where they’re being quoted, what content they’re publishing. This insight helps sales teams differentiate the firm’s message and anticipate where client conversations may be headed.

Additionally, internal data from website analytics, content downloads and email engagement can reveal which topics are gaining traction with target audiences, insight that can be shared with client teams and incorporated into broader sales strategies.

“Since most comms folks are highly attuned to and skilled at monitoring media—both traditional and social – including them in efforts to gather competitive intelligence for pursuing new clients and new business from current clients is a no-brainer,” said John Byrne, chief business development officer at Gould & Ratner and the 2025 president of the Legal Marketing Association. “One of the easiest ways to connect with both prospects and clients is to reach out when they are in the news or posting about their own new business or events they are attending or sponsoring. Getting regular alerts for media mentions is an integral part of key client account management.”

Social Media: Amplifying the Message Where Clients Are Watching

Social media is often overlooked in the context of key accounts, but it can be a powerful amplifier of targeted content and messaging.

LinkedIn remains the key platform for legal buyers and in-house counsel. Communications teams can use it to promote content that speaks directly to client concerns, whether that’s a new regulation alert, a co-authored article or a video from a practice leader discussing an industry shift.

Content created for client teams can be repurposed for organic social posting, but beyond that social media platforms also offer powerful paid targeting tools which could potentially lead to new clients. For example, a firm could promote a new ESG white paper directly to senior legal officers at Fortune 500 energy companies. These campaigns can be customized by job title, industry, geography and more, helping to ensure that high-value content reaches the right eyes. Feedback from these campaigns and targeted audiences can then be shared back with current client teams.

Tagging strategies are also important. Communications teams should encourage lawyers to tag clients (where appropriate), industries and themes to boost visibility and engagement. And because many clients follow the firm and individual lawyers online, consistent posting helps maintain visibility and mindshare between direct contacts.

Conclusion: A Call for Integration

Communications teams in law firms are often seen as reactive or secondary players in the client account development process. That perception is outdated and firms that recognize the strategic value of communications in key account efforts can gain a real edge.

When properly aligned with sales and business development, the communications function becomes a driver of engagement, insight and visibility. It connects the firm’s capabilities to key client’s concerns. It opens doors through thought leadership. It amplifies wins and sharpens positioning. And most importantly, it reinforces the idea that the firm understands not just the law but each client’s business. In a competitive market, that kind of alignment can make all the difference.

Beth Huffman, a vice president at Poston Communications, has more than 40 years of experience in communications, media and marketing. She has spent the last two decades helping major law firms, legal organizations and their global clients create strategic narratives that elevated their reputations and work.

Dave Poston is the CEO and general counsel of Poston Communications. He is an attorney who has worked as a legal business development, marketing and communications professional for the last 30 years.

Reprinted with permission from the August 1, 2025 edition of The Legal Intelligencer © 2025 ALM Media Properties, LLC. All rights reserved. Further duplication without permission is prohibited, contact 877-257-3382 or reprints@alm.com.